Jericho Rose
by Comidia Del Arte
Summary: Alice had grown accustom to living apart from her family, only having to worry about them during reunions. But when the world stops dead, she is the only adult left to take care of her nephew. It isn't long until she takes on an outer shell devoid of life, as she and her nephew tumble through the apocalypse. They might as well be a couple Jericho roses.
1. Aunt Alice

The groans of the dead echoed like thunder, reverberating like the tolling of the death bell. Alice had her arms around her nephew, making every attempt to comfort him through their entrapment. The two had come into this barn 3 days ago in order to escape a small herd of biters. They had been living off a severally rationed water supply, and a couple protein bars. The herd had grown since then, and, brainless as they were, the biters were making quick work of the lower support beams of the hay loft the pair had taken refuge in.

This was not usual, in most cases, biters had a short attention span, and after a few hours they would lose interest and lumber off in search of an easier meal. Perhaps their food supply was running low; maybe hunger was driving them to adopt patience into their hunting strategies. Christ, who was she kidding, it was just rotten luck! She had a single bullet left, only having run out a couple weeks ago. Her ill desire to raid the last couple houses had robbed them of the opportunity of escape. Pulling Gabriel all the tighter, Alice sang quietly hoping that something so simple as music would calm the 12 year old. "Yesterday, a child came out to wonder, caught a dragonfly inside a jar…"

Her eyes darted around the barn; they were running out of time. The biters were activated at the slightest bit of sound, and Gabriel's whimpers weren't helping. Normally the kid was silent as a mouse, but the thought of impending death seemed to bring out to the yowling cat. Alice had been hatching a make-shift plan for a few hours now. "Tearful, when the sky is full of thunder…"

To the far right of them was a window. More crappy luck had made it so that the two came into a barn that was probably rotting away years prior to the apocalypse. There was only one small bit of loft left, and that was where Alice and Gabriel were. "And tearful at the falling of a star…."

Alice leaned forward a little, taking in the couple inches of wood that once supported the other portion of the loft. It looked durable, looked like it hadn't submitted to the rot just yet. If it could support several pounds of wood and hay, perhaps, even in this state, it could support a 90-100lb kid. The kid, most definitely, but her, she wasn't entirely sure. At the thought, Alice kissed the boy on the head. "And the seasons, they go round and round, the painted ponies go up and down. We're captured on a carousel of time."

The wood of the loft began to creaked again; the biters had taken out the first pole. Alice coaxed Gabriel up and got him to move away from the weak side. "We can't return, we can only look, behind from where we came, go round and round in the circle game."

Catching site of the look of wide eyed fear on her nephew's face, Alice spoke softly. "Gabe, I have a plan, and I need you to listen."

At her words, the kid looked up, waiting for orders. His gaze filled with every iota of trust and expectation. In the first few weeks, Alice had been staggered by that look. It was absolutely foreign to her, having no kids of her own and barely knowing Gabriel before this, she did not have a clue how to take it. Now, now was different, it had been almost a year, and she had come to expect that sort of reliance, just as Gabriel had expected her to have the answer to every situation.

Taking a deep breath, Alice got up into a crouch, Gabe followed her example. Gesturing towards the window, she launched into her plan. "You understand that we can't touch the ground?"

Gabe nodded. "Good boy, see that couple inches of wood along the wall?"

Again he nodded. "Alright, that's our way across."

The boy eyed the beam, and bit his lip. Despite the several months composed of living in trees, Gabriel had a fear of heights and adding the 'don't touch the ground filled with biters' factor was not helping in the slightest. Glancing at Alice and then at the ground he whispered. "I-I don't think I can…"

Shaking her head, his aunt didn't dare look at him. "Well, _I_ think you can. And _you're _going to shuffle to that window."

Gabe glared at her; she did this every time she wanted him to do something. Even when he saw her during family reunions, she'd pull stuff like this. "I don't think I fucking can Aunt Alice."

That got her attention. The pair looked to be snarling at each other, identical amber brown eyes boring into each other. "Look kid, I don't care if it's the end of the world, you'll watch your damn mouth, and none of that Aunt Alice crap either."

Though Alice was in no way her sister and cursed like a drunk sailor, she was sure to respect Linda's wishes that Gabe did not taking up cursing. "Now, you have to move quickly, they've taken out a pole, got one left and the support beams, and that won't be much to hold our weight."

Gabe swallowed a great deal of spit and fear, nodding in understanding. "What about you?"

She chuckled, giving him a playful nudge "Concerned 'bout your aunty eh?"

He nephew didn't share the joke. Knowing this, Alice looked straight at him. "I'll be right behind ya, alright…. We'll be ok."


	2. Keep Going

His gaze faltered. "Promise?"

Nodding, she affirmed "Promise."

Alice could hear the biters slamming into the second pole; they'd make short work of that one. They had pretty much doubled in numbers. "Alright Gabe, you're gonna go first, ok….. To, ummm, test the beam; see how much it can hold."

Spouting shit like that would make him more inclined to go first, it would minimize arguing and wasted time. Gabe would feel like he was doing something, and Alice could get him out of danger faster. Before, she sent him off, she handed over her backpack. "Remember what I told you to do if we got separated?"

Gabriel nodded. "Mark the trees I pass, when I settle write 'Al, couldn't wait, had to keep moving.' If you don't come in by morning, move on, right?"

The question had made him nervous. "But, that won't happen…?

Alice ignored that bit distracted by her mental checklist. She handed him two knives. "Don't look down, look straight ahead, got it?"

With that, she hugged her nephew as if it would be the last. "Straight ahead ok?"

Gabe was terrified, but this was their only chance. Alice forced him towards the beam. "It'll be alright…"

Biggest fucking lie ever told. This in mind, Alice sent her nephew to balance on while trying to move the attention of the biters from him "Common you fuckers, feeding time."

Unsheathing her machete, Alice dragged it along her palm, and squeezed, eyeing the blood as it dripped, causing the biters to go frantic, clawing up at her in attempts to get closer to the source of food. Glancing up, she eyed Gabe, he was halfway across. Then he turned and the two stared at one another resulting in him freezing for a second, his body seizing up. "Straight ahead Gabe!"

It took a moment, but he bit back the fear and he was on the move again. _Almost there, common kiddo, so close. _He stepped onto the sill of the window and looked around, a nervous smile on his face. "Alright Ga-!"

There was a crash and final pole was torn down, resulting in the floor going out from under her. "ALICE!"

Instinct kicked in, and Alice went to cover her head as the rest of the loft came down on her. The splinters caught in her hair, jagged pieces of wood cut into her skin. The only good thing that came from this was that it was a momentary shield from the biters. The kid's voice cried out her name again, more frantic than before. "ALICE!"

She called out from beneath the scrap pile. "Just go, I'll find you! I promise!"

There was a pause. "B-but…"

Damn that kid, he couldn't stay here. "I said **go** damn-it!"

Alice could hear him fighting with his desire to stay; he did not want to leave her. Despite that, he knew better than to stick around, not for fear of the biters but for what his aunt might do if he refused to listen. Finally, the whimpering ceased, and at the point she knew that he was out of danger. At long last, Alice could respond properly to pain searing through her body, everything hurt, her face, her arms, her legs, nothing went untouched. Tears coursed down her cheeks, cutting through the bloody grime and fresh crimson. Alice had always been good at keeping her pain moments quiet. While others screamed and cried, all she did was take the pain in silence, tensing for long periods to ride out the waves of hyper sensitive nerves. Taking a deep breath, she worked her arms out of the position over her head. By the grace of God, she'd managed to hold onto her machete in the fall. The wood gave when the support of her arms left, resulting in the space closing in the biters were getting closer.

They were beginning to tear at the wood, trying to force away the blockade that kept them away from their meal. Alice could handle a group of them, she had a way of squirming out of their grasp, yet she had never fought them injured. Over a month ago, she had turned her ankle while jumping from a tree, then crapshoot luck resulted in a foot sprain when she attempted to walk the first off. Being of no use injured, she hobbled with Gabriel in tow to the nearest house and did not come out for a total of two days. That was the first time she had sent her nephew to scavenge without supervision. _He did alright on those trips, one mistake, but he still got more than enough food and water, he'll be ok if something happens I guess…._Gabe had never been left alone for more than a few hours. He did well, but he was still so reliant on his aunt for every answer, she never talked to him about the possibility of the worst. Alice blanked for a second and cursed herself. _I never prepared him for what might happen if I died….Fuck… How could I have been so selfish? I was supposed to prepare him for everything, and I fucking left that out… stupid-stupid-stupid!_

Alice was shaken from the thought when a sliver of light peeked at her from a newly made crack in the wood, followed by a series of clawed and even skinless fingers. Wouldn't be long till they got through, if she wanted to make it out of here, she would need to make her now. Looking over her shoulder as best as she could, she realized that somehow the loft had collapsed against the wall, she wasn't surrounded by biters on all sides, meaning that she could get through the wood without having to do it in the midst of their hands. A few minutes were all she needed to get her bearings, and then Alice would cut through those fuckers like grain. Tightening her grip on the handle of her machete, Alice began to claw her way out of the pile. Ignoring the splitters as they worked under her fingernails and into her skin, with a final push, Alice broke through, and came out facing the biter herd. In her left hand was her last knife and in the right, her machete, and the last bullet loaded into the gun and waiting for the worst. The biters shuffled towards her, moaning and hissing, hands outstretched and prepared to tear the flesh from her bones. Grip tightening on both weapons, Alice forced a smile and descended into the horde, blackened blood congealing from wounds she inflicted. Her eyes were set on the exit to the barn, her mind unyielding at the horrifying thought that she might not leave this shit-fest alive.


	3. Gabriel

Gabriel had not been much of a crier growing up, according to his mother he was like his aunt in that aspect. Any time he was hurt, his face would go red, there were tears, but no sobs would make moves to escape him. Since everything stopped, he had taken up the act rather quickly. He saw his mother and father turn before his eyes and he cried for several hours as they beat against his closet door. Their nails breaking against the wood, their heads busted against the frame as the groans and hisses echoed in his ears, even as he slept. Tucked away, curled into a ball

On the morning of his aunt's arrival, he heard his parents move away from the door. They hadn't done that in weeks, and when they did, it was because of a cat. He heard the cat screaming when they tore into it. He tried to leave but by the time he had gathered up the courage, they had eaten most of the cat, and had returned when his hand slipped on the desk, causing a lamp to shatter.

When his parents went away from the door, Gabe opened it just a crack. Only to see Alice put a machete through both their heads, he watched when she went to her knees and didn't move for a long time. Even then, Gabe couldn't bring himself to make a sound, and only did so when his aunt caught him peeking from the door. Her eyes were dry, absent of any tears. Absent of anything, they looked so empty, practically hollow. Yet, Gabe was so desperate for human contact; he ran to her and cried into her blood stained shirt. Only to jump slightly when she pulled him closer into a rib cracking hug, Alice felt like a wall that he could lean on. Even when she was hurting, she felt solid to him and he crumbled into her embracing ignoring the stench of sweat, blood, and what looked like biter bits.

They stayed in the house for a night, the pair slept in the living room, in the morning Alice raided the kitchen while Gabe ate his way through a box of Cheerios. He'd been living off his stash of candy when he had locked himself in his closet, he was grateful to be eating something that wasn't sour gummy worms. Within the hour, the two abandoned the house, and walked, and they kept walking. That was how it had been for almost a year. They'd stay in one location for a couple weeks at most, only to keep walking.

At one point they did try assimilating into a group, but it only lasted a month at most. Gabe knew something happened between his aunt and one of the men in camp. Other than that, all he knew was that she ran into their tent one afternoon, grabbed him and told him to pack up, while she kept an ear out for anyone who happened by their temporary home. Under the cover of night, the two ran. Well, Gabe did, he ran while Alice fell back for a good 20 minutes. When she joined him, he could have sworn he had heard people screaming, and it was coming in the direction of where they came. As the sun peaked in the sky, Gabe noticed that his aunt was darning one hell of a shiner, and her once clean shirt looked torn, as if someone had made a grab for her. Alice never talked about, and Gabe never brought it up, they just kept walking.

At long last, he came to what looked like a back road. According to the signs, it led into a small town. Running up to it, Gabe circled the town name and provided a signature, two misshapen wings. As he went he could recall something his aunt had said. _"The biters are moving away from the populated areas to find food." _So that meant that when the living abandons an area, so do the dead? He began to pick up the pace, the backpack slapping up and down as he went. Naturally after a few minutes, he was forced to slow down to a walk. Finally, Gabe had reached the main strip of road that cut through the mixture of houses and local market. Seeing a small 7/11 type store, he bee lined for it taking up a rock as he went. When he reached the entrance he threw it at one of the lights in the ceiling, drawing out any remaining biters. Just as the glass of the bulb careened into the floor, two biters lumbered out from behind the shelves. Without a word, Gabe advanced knives in hand. Making every attempt to not imagine what these things must have looked like when they were alive. _"Biters are dead, meaning dead weight, use that weight against em. They're not coordinated, you get the momentum going, they'll miss, and they'll stumble. That's when you strike. Once you get to my size, you'll be able to knock em down, but right now, you're small and fast." _Licking his lips in apprehension, Gabe went after the first one, which was a good few feet ahead of the second. He'd have to kill the first one fast, or the second on could overwhelm him. The biter lunged at him, arms outstretched. Leaping out of the way, he got behind it jumped up in order to lodge both blades into the back of its head. When it fell, he ripped them out and went after the second, taking it out quickly and quietly. It took a moment for him to come back down. This was his problem. Gabe was capable of taking out biters, but before and after he had a hard time not visualizing what these things once looked like. Cocking his head to the right, he noticed that one of them was wearing name tag. Just as he was about to read it he tore his eyes away, he couldn't bring himself to see it, to know it. It was bad enough that he could visualize what the biter looked like when alive. A laky woman with curled brown hair… No, no, doing this wasn't going to help, it only made it harder to keep going.


	4. Edge of Night

The sun was beginning to set on the entrance to the barn; it had gone from a hell storm of groaning death to absolute silence only twenty minutes ago. There appeared to be no movement, no life left in that desolate place. Suddenly, a lone figure could be seen lurching away from the entrance, a 20 gauge shot gun strapped to its back, dragging a machete, its entire front soaked in congealed blood. On first glance, most would assume the figure a biter, seeing that the right side of its face looked ragged and bloody. Yet, the dark brown eyes it bore betrayed the life it still possessed.

Alice left the barn as quickly as her sore and slightly injured legs could carry her. The right side of her face had been grazed by the clawed fingers one of the biters. Thankfully the bitch had done little damage, she wouldn't bleed out but if she did not clean the wound fast enough, an infection could set it. That in mind, Alice was forced to stop and take out the last of her water ration from the canteen clipped to her jeans and was left of the gauze from her pockets. Coming to a tree, she sat down, careful to avoid the patches of splintered wood that had wedged its way into the back part of her legs. After thoroughly washing her hands, and wrapping the cut she made on her hand, she tipped her head back and went out feeling for any particles, only to find a single chipped and dirty French tipped fingernail. With a muffled shriek she pulled it out quickly and cleaned out of the wound with some of the water.

Glancing at the nail, Alice chuckled in a hollow manner. In any other given situation this stupid fingernail would have been hilarious, or at least worthy of a more hearty laugh. For a moment, she found herself recalling an incident in high school that had resulted in a cleaner fake French tip breaking off in her arm. The fight was a vague memory… It might have had something to do with boy….? Christ, life had been so simple back then, never in a million years did Alice think she'd be surviving at the end of the world. Even now, it came off as unreal. With a roll of her eyes, Al dropped the biter nail, and went about her business.

After letting her skin dry for a second, she began the process of wrapping her face, leaving an opening for her mouth, being sure to cover the entirety of her cheek where the claw marks had been made. Her face stung like hell, but thankfully she had managed to stop the bleeding. Once that was over, she turned her attention to her legs.

One agonizing hour later, Alice had managed to pluck out most of the wood; crunch time dictated that the smaller pieces would have to wait till she found Gabriel. She had just finished cleaning and wrapping her legs when she felt a gust of night air brush across her skin, signaling the lateness of the evening. If she was to reach Gabe by nightfall she'd have to get moving. Second later saw her on her feet, the reassuring weight of the machete in her right hand, while the shot gun slapped against her back as she made her way out of the forested acreage, and back onto the roads, following the spray paint trail, as it put her on the path that lead straight to her nephew.

It was nightfall by the time Alice came upon the small town. The temperature had dropped slightly, and it had started to rain over an hour ago. Despite the air itself being warm, the rain was starting to become too much. Alice had given all her supplies to Gabriel, including her jacket. Right now, she only had her boots, torn up jeans, and a raggedy t-shirt. Obviously that didn't provide much in the way of keeping her warm. For the last 20 minutes a single word kept dancing through her mind 'hypothermia.'

Glancing up at the welcome sign, she smiled at the tag Gabriel had left behind, angel wings…"Smart ass."

With a shiver, Al moved in, going quickly and quietly, the rain posed a problem for her. It covered the sound of the biters while also obscuring her vision. However, there were some advantages to this weather; it provided her with some cover. It took some time to find the place, at last she came upon the convenience store with the mark, though the mark itself had been mostly washed away, but there was enough left for Alice to make out her name, and the last portion of the message. Running towards the market, she knocked on the window, within minutes a small light came on, and it moved towards her. Gabe opened the door and asked a single question. "You bit?"

For a second, Alice blanked and then she chuckled. "Lil brat."

Without any hesitation he let her in. Over the past year, the pair had developed a great deal of trust. Neither of them would even think of putting the other at risk by coming back after being bit. Al closed and locked the door behind them, and Gabe ran to the back of the store, towards the storage area. Not long after, the two were sitting down to a meal of power bars and the canned fruit that Gabe had found in the store.

Alice had put on some dry clothes and rolled up the pants legs, allowing her to pick out what remained of the splinters in her skin. She was still shivering from the rain, she actually felt cold despite wearing dry clothes…. It was probably nothing. After dinner, Gabe fell asleep, curled in the blanket, while Alice sat up to keep watch.

The rain storm had passed over in the middle of the night, or at least by the time Gabe had woken up; this was without the rousing shake curtesy of his aunt. She would have woken him up during the night to take his turn on watch. This wasn't usual for him. Normally Alice never missed a chance to get in her share of sleep. Sitting up, he looked glanced around the room, his eyes falling on his aunt. She could be found curled up on the floor; perhaps she fell asleep while on watch and didn't think to wake him up. Pushing away the blanket he stood and made his way over to her, going on edge when he noticed that she was shivering. "Alice?"

He got one look at her face and grabbed the blanket and threw it over her. Her eyes were slow to movement, and she was shaking like crazy. She was hypothermic; it must have set in during the night. Al's skin was freezing to the touch, and glazed over in a cold sweat. Gabe didn't know what to do, his aunt had been injured in the past, but it was sprain, nothing that made her unconscious. He could feel the tears welling up at the panic set it; he couldn't lose her, not after he had just got her back. Without much thought, he tried to drag her into the streak of sunlight that poured into the room, and then he curled up under the blanket, pressing his body to hers in an attempt to give her warmth. Alice was conscious, but confused, her eyes looking out at nothing, while Gabe stared up at her. "You can't die." His whispered plea went unanswered, and he hugged her closer.


	5. Strangers

Through most of the morning, Gabe made himself useful by attempting to give his Aunt some warmth, pulling together scraps of cardboard and paper from the store; he used what he could from their lighter to make a small fire. It was a pitiful thing, it would have been better with some wood, but Gabriel was afraid to leave Alice alone. She was still curled up on the cold unforgiving floor. He could tell she was making attempts to still her shaking, she was awake, which was a good sign, but she was still in limbo as far as thoughts went. There were points where she was hyper sensitive to what was going on around her; this caused her eyes to dance around in their sockets wildly, snapping to attention at each ill placed sound. However, that energy dissipated, leaving her exhausted. Gabe didn't know much, all he knew was that he needed to keep her awake and she needed to stay warm.

This continued to several hours, accompanied by Alice's weak voice, prompted by Gabe's demands that she sing. A trick he learned when he watched an old cartoon where two kids were trapped in an avalanche, he couldn't remember the name of show, but he was sure it would help. Alice complied, if only to humor him. "And the seasons, they go round n' round, painted ponies go and down, they're captured on a carousel of time."

Her eyes wandered around for a moment and then settled on her nephew's face. There seemed to be moment of clarity in Alice, a weak smile graced her features, causing the bandage to slack around her cheek, revealing the wounds. Gabe flinched at the sight, revolted, naturally, though a great pang of guilt went through him right after. "It'll be alright Gabriel; everything will be ok, promise."

He could only nod in response, taking comfort in the constant promise his aunt made whenever there was some sort of danger. Though, this was different, right now, she wasn't the one who was the strength of the pair, she was down and out, with only a 12 year old to depend on. Gabe had experienced much heart ache and loss of loved ones in the past year or so, and he couldn't bear the loss of another. Especially one he had only just gotten to know, it was too cruel. He hugged his aunt all the closer, willing his body heat to seep into her, hoping it would make all the difference. She had lost consciousness again, her eyes mere slits.

Suddenly, there came a crash from main area of the store. Gabe froze, terror gripping him. The biters must have heard him. Quietly as possible, he pulled himself out from under the blanket, grabbing one of the knives that Alice had given him yesterday. Creeping towards the door, he pressed his right ear against its surface, waiting, listening. He could hear the sound of footstep from the main floor, they were clear and confident. They did no shuffle or stumble like the dead; those were sounds of the living. Gabe looked towards his aunt, hoping for some reassurance, it didn't come this time, she had passed out. He was about to go to her, hoping the intruder wouldn't find them, but then he heard voices, which confirmed that there was more than one person outside the door. "Someone must of come through, took out two walkers, probably hunkered down to wait out the storm."

This voice was heavy with a southern accent, that much Gabe was certain of. A second voice made itself known. "Whoever they were, they're not here now."

The footsteps moved closer towards the storeroom, Gabe fingers were cramping around his knife's handle. His eyes darted towards Alice, and then he looked at the door handle, waiting for it to turn, waiting to spring on the intruder. "Let's keep looking, Beth says we're almost outta' formula."

There was no more movement, from the sound of it, the southern man was moving away from the door. The group started moving around the store again, obviously in search of supplies. Gabe blanked for a second…That was a woman talking, and what did she mean by formula? Curiosity was starting to get the better of him, Alice was gonna kill him, but he had to see. He reached for the door, and as quietly as possibly turned the handle, resulting in its opening just a crack, giving him enough room to peak out. With one last look at Al, he slipped out the door and began creeping around the short aisles of the store, keeping an eye out for the strangers.

It didn't take long to spot them. They had turned their attentions to the far side of the store, a space that Gabe hadn't touched, seeing that it out had cheap diapers meant for emergencies on long road trips. Gabriel nestled in behind a display of moldy bread; he could see the strangers perfectly from here. He had been right about there being a woman, There she stood, next to an Asian guy, the two were taking up armloads of diapers, they looked to be heading outside to unload them. It was then that he noticed that their third person wasn't with them. Within a second, as that realization struck, he heard the shuffling of feet. Quick as a whip, Gabe stood and spun around; knocking over the bread display in the process, only to come, face to chest with a very tall and scruffy looking man. He backed up, knife at the ready.

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The kid looked no older than Carl, probably younger than him. The fact that he was scrawny didn't help in Daryl's attempt at deducing a precise age. Still, despite being skinny as a twig, the kid looked fed and healthy, and pretty damned determined to defend himself. Daryl relaxed his stance, making an attempt to show the kid that he wasn't going to hurt him, but the boy only had eyes for his crossbow. Those beer bottle eyes were wild with fear, without a second thought, the kid lunged, it was poor attack if anything. Dixon grabbed the boy's arm and twisted it, relieving the kid of his weapon. Within seconds, hysterical screaming tore through the store. Glenn and Maggie jumped and looked around, shocked to find Daryl wrestling a kid to the ground.

They dropped their supplies and ran over to help. The boy was clawing at Dixon's arms, trying to get away. "Let me go!"

Maggie moved to grab the kid, making every attempt to be as gentle and non-threatening as possible. "Woe, calm down sweetie, we're not gonna hurt ya…"

He eyed her up and down, still on edge. Dixon watched him. Noticing how his attention was constantly being thrown over her shoulder, in the direction of the store room. Maggie brushed the boy's hair out of his eyes. "Where are your mom and dad, is there anyone with you?"

The kid wouldn't look at her; he seemed to be thinking his answer over. Slowly, she shook his head. Maggie gave him a pitying look. "Oh hun, I'm sorry."

Glenn looked over at Daryl, watching him as he began to walk towards the door where the boy had come out of. The kid looked up, and realized what was going on, and before Maggie could get a firm grip on him, he ran at Daryl and jumped him. His fist's beating against the hunter's back. The boy was screaming bloody murder, doing everything he could to keep them away from that door. Dixon managed to get a hold of the wild child, and all but plucked him off his back. Suddenly, the commotion was interrupted by an explosion of sound, a gun had gone off, propelling a bullet right past Daryl's head and into the wall he faced. A weak but firm voice sounded off behind him. "Let him go!"

Daryl's grip on the boy did not slacken. The gun cocked. "I said, let him go, now!"

The redneck removed his hands, and the boy rushed past him, swiping up his fallen weapon as he went. Dixon turned and took in the scene only to discover that the voice belonged to a rather willowy looking woman, her brown eyes were slits in her sunken sockets, and her skin was a sickening white. The woman had a 20 gauge shotgun firmly in her grasp and she looked ready to collapse under its weight. What looked like a nasty looking injury on right cheek covered by a slightly blood stained bandage. It had been wrapped around her head, weaving through a series of short black curls. At one point, she might have been considered average, maybe even decent looking, but like everyone else, she looked like she'd been to hell and back.

The kid hugged her, and she maneuvered him to where she made herself a barrier between him and the supposed danger the Atlanta group posed. Maggie took in the symptoms, watching how the woman's eyes would go out of focus, and how her legs seemed ready to give at any moment. The boy glanced up at her, knowing how much effort it was taking for her to remain standing without betraying any form of weakness, in all honesty, he had his hand pressed against her back to keep her from stumbling. "Now, we're gonna to walk out of here, nice and easy, you don't follow us, and I don't _fix_ any of you."

She could feel a fainting spell coming on but she shook it off, still keeping her eyes on the group. "Go get our stuff."

He stared at her, seeing the slight sway in her stance. "B-but, Al…"

This time she looked at him, and in that moment he could see how desperate she was. "Now!"

The boy glanced at the group and then back at his aunt, reluctantly he removed his hand and did as he was told. Right as he turned his back, he heard her collapse onto the floor. He spun and went to her. "Alice? Alice!"

This time there was so response, he looked up at the group, and grabbed for the gun. Only then did he notice how unfamiliar it felt in his grip. Eyeing the unconscious form of his aunt, he dropped the unloaded weapon and embraced her, noting how shallow her breathing had become. Taking in the strangers, he gave a look route with confusion; he wasn't sure what to do anymore. Tears were starting to make their way down his face accompanied by the dawning realization that he was going to lose the last person he had. "No, no, no, no."


End file.
